Geography
Saskatchewan is bounded by the Northwest Territories (N), Manitoba (E), North Dakota and Montana (S), and Alberta (W). One of the Prairie Provinces, its northern third is part of the Canadian Shield . The principal rivers are the Churchill, North and South Saskatchewan, and Qu'Appelle. Between the Saskatchewan and Churchill rivers lies a mixed forest belt that provides much timber; a section is preserved as Prince Albert National Park.
Only in S Saskatchewan has there been substantial settlement and development. Regina is the capital and second largest city; Saskatoon is the largest city, and Prince Albert and Moose Jaw are other important centers.
Economy and Higher Education
Except for a semiarid section in the southwest used for grazing and an area in the east and central portion given over to mixed farming and dairying, the land is devoted to the raising of hard wheat. Saskatchewan normally produces two thirds of Canada's wheat. The vast expanses of unbroken plain are well suited to large-scale mechanized farming. Oats, barley, rye, rapeseed, and flax are also grown throughout this region. The historic occupation of fur trapping is still practiced.
Saskatchewan is rich in minerals. Oil and natural gas, found under the prairie, are by far the province's most important minerals. The region north of Lake Athabaska has been exploited for ores yielding uranium. The area around Flin Flon, in the northeast, is mined for copper, zinc, and gold. Coal is mined in the southwest. Potash mining began in the 1950s near Saskatoon and Esterhazy, and Canada is now a leading producer of the mineral. Most of the province's industries process raw materials.
Institutions of higher education include Aldergate College, at Moose Jaw; the Univ. of Regina; and the Univ. of Saskatchewan, at Saskatoon.
*Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, Copyright (c) 2003.